Valentine's Day Cards at the ARC
by FLUFF-N-UTTER-1
Summary: A brief series of one shots, different couples, different times over the years at the ARC. Starting with season 1. Concludes post season 5. Cutter/Claudia, Connor/Abby, Lester/Mrs. Lester, Jenny/Michael, Matt/Emily, Jess/Becker.
1. Cutter's Card

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Cutter's Card

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The team was still new when the first Valentine's Day card appeared in the offices of the group that would someday be called the ARC. Professor Nick Cutter had taken a sabbatical, or an indefinite leave of absence if anomalies continued to occur, from Central Metropolitan University.

"You need to sign for this delivery," ordered Lester.

The Scot looked up from his desk in time to see the bureaucrat gesture with his hand. Behind Lester, a delivery man moved forward with a heavily laden trolley. The man in blue coveralls wheeled the stacked boxes into Cutter's new office in a corner of their temporary location.

"What this?" asked Cutter. Bushy blonde eyebrows crinkled up in puzzlement as his blue eyes gazed at the scene before him.

"CMU needs your old office for the adjunct professor," explained Lester as the delivery man turned to leave. "We had your desk and office cleared out. All your personal papers and effects were brought here to the home office building."

The delivery man disappeared as Cutter struggled to contain his temper. The Scot glared at the government official standing before him.

"And you didn't think I might want to pack my own stuff?" asked the professor. His brogue sounded a bit more pronounced as it did when he was angry.

"When would you have time for that?" asked Lester.

Cutter had to acknowledge there was some truth to the bureaucrat's question. It had been two months since the first anomaly at the Forest of Dean and a week since the second anomaly in the underground. Evaluating the data from the two anomalies had kept the professor busy, as well as checking on his injured lab assistant, but Cutter wasn't going to admit that to Lester.

"Perhaps sometime between the scutosaurus and the atheropleura," answered Cutter.

The sound that came from Lester could only be described as a snort. Of disbelief or derision, Cutter couldn't be sure. Lester kept the administrative wheels turning. The bureaucrat maintained funding for their work, security with Captain Ryan and his team, and connections with the ministry and Whitehall. This afternoon, remembered Cutter, there was a meeting scheduled to discuss anomalies and determine the continued existence, or not, of this new department. That Lester thought it worthwhile to bring Cutter's office contents from the university to this building seemed to indicate something.

"Her majesty's government paid for the packing and delivery," reminded Lester. The green eyed man smirked a bit and adjusted the cufflinks on his fine Italian suit. "But you can certainly take care of the unpacking."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor Temple returned about an hour later. Cutter's lab assistant, Stephen Hart, had not yet been released from the hospital, so the young graduate student had been helping the professor out. Connor found Nick sitting at his desk with a large paleontology book open before him. The trolley loaded with boxes was pushed up against the rear wall of the office. Only one box was open. Some of the contents had been laid out upon the other boxes, but it was obvious that Cutter had stopped the unpacking when he reached the book he now held.

"Where did the boxes come from?" asked Connor.

The dark haired young scientist looked puzzled. The trolley and its contents hadn't been there when he had left to go to take the daily electromagnetic readings at the anomaly in the underground.

"CMU," grunted the professor without looking up from the book. "Lester had my office cleared out and everything brought over here."

Connor glanced at the boxes. The heavy laden trolley contained nearly two dozen boxes, but it didn't seem enough to include everything the professor had accumulated in his university office over the last decade.

"I can give you a hand unpacking," offered Connor.

Cutter grunted again and nodded, so the student took off his fedora and began. Books on shelves was simple enough. Artifacts next to the books, visible, so if the professor wanted to move them later he could find things easily. Cutter continued reading, oblivious to his student's work. It wasn't until Connor reached the bottom layer of boxes that the younger man had a problem.

"Eww!" exclaimed Connor. His shoulders slumped.

"What?" asked Cutter. The professor laid down the pen beside the pad where he had been jotting down notes. The Scot looked over at his assistant.

"They packed the garbage," answered Connor. The technical geek looked at the contents of the box in dismay. "I suppose we should just throw this out in the bin, right?"

The Scot stood up and walked over beside the boxes. The professor glanced at all the books and artifacts now displayed on shelves in his new office. The remaining boxes on the trolley must be the actual contents of his university desk. The box Connor now held smelled, and it looked like fruit flies were swarming around the top of the garbage canister. Cutter reached forward and plucked the pink binder off the top of the trash pile.

"Everything but this," agreed Cutter.

The student's dark brown eyes lit up. Connor gave a huge grin.

"Really?"

"I haven't finished reading it," answered Cutter. "And it will probably need a lot of revisions based on our new discoveries."

Connor nodded his head up and down with excitement.

"You go have lunch," continued Cutter, "I'll finish unpacking the rest."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Cutter put the pink binder in his topmost desk drawer and hoped he wasn't making a mistake encouraging the young man. The professor had originally tossed his graduate student's thesis. However, working together over the past two months, the professor had come to appreciate the excitable young man's brain. Maybe the thesis could be salvaged, or at least be entertaining reading. The Scot began to go through the remaining boxes.

"Bin… bin… desk," muttered the professor as he opened the boxes and sorted through the contents of his former university desk.

Half an hour later, Cutter opened the last box. His wife Helen's picture stared up at him. Cutter had a similar picture on the desk at his home. Beside her photograph a nautilus shell was placed atop a red envelope.

"Hmmph," muttered Cutter.

A tapping sound came from the doorway. Cutter looked up and across his office.

"Missed you at lunch," called a soft voice.

Claudia Brown, the team's primary liaison with all things weird in the home office reports, was standing at the doorway to Cutter's office. Cutter quickly closed the lid on the box before him. The Scot's face crinkled up in a smile.

"Sorry," replied the professor. He gestured at the boxes and stuff scattered throughout his office. "I lost track of time."

The tawny haired woman held a plate up invitingly.

"I brought you a sandwich," explained Claudia. She smirked. "Don't want you passing out at this afternoon's meeting. You know how Lester is about health and safety."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Cutter hated meetings. And the meeting in the windowed office today was worse than usual. The professor stood beside Claudia Brown. Together they saw a short film of his student and the still open anomaly in the underground. However, the assembled bureaucrats didn't seem to understand the significance of the anomalies. Cutter tried to explain.

"A fourth dimension, as real…"

Lester interrupted, taking control of the meeting.

"Official policy has yet to be determined," stated the government official.

Cutter blinked in surprise. The same man that authorized spending government funds to move Cutter' office contents from CMU was now stalling. However, before Cutter could ask Lester about it, another man interrupted with a message. Lester read it and looked up at the assembled group.

"Good Lord," said Lester. "It looks like we have another one."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

It was late when Cutter returned to his office that evening. One anomaly, opening at three different locations in the course of one day… that was new. And Helen, his wife, was back. Alive. After eight years of not knowing what had happened to her, Nick now knew she had gone off exploring… without a thought in the world for him or his grief. He opened the box and looked at the photograph.

"Did you ever love me?" whispered Cutter.

Cutter's hand reached inside the box and picked up the red envelope. The card inside was something Nick had purchased in preparation for Valentine's Day eight years ago. But then he and Helen had another row, and she left for the Forest of Dean without him that February morning. After she disappeared, Nick had kept the card, as he had kept the good memories of their marriage, but Cutter now knew their relationship had been over for all those years.

"Time to move on," said Cutter as he tossed the red envelope with Helen's name scrawled across it into the bin.

The Scot looked at the remaining contents of the box and reached in again, intending to finish the sorting process. The sound of his office door opening behind Nick stopped him.

"Oh good," said Claudia, "you're still here."

Cutter turned to see the beautiful Home Office representative. Unbidden, his thoughts leapt to the memory of the feel of her lips on his earlier that afternoon. Mouth to mouth resuscitation, the breath of life. An earlier memory, of their first meeting, also came to mind.

"Unpacking my desk stuff," explained the Professor.

"Well you will just have to repack it," commented Claudia, "when we move to the new facility."

"What?" asked Cutter. "Where are we moving? What new facility?"

Claudia looked flustered for a moment.

"Oh sorry, I wasn't supposed to mention it yet," explained the feisty woman. "Lester is trying to get us into a separate facility, one with labs and room for creatures if needed, but it's still a work in progress."

"Well if it is a work in progress like the construction on Farrington Road, maybe I should settle in this office for a long time," chuckled Cutter.

Claudia chuckled too, but they both knew Lester had a way of getting things done. The home office representative tilted her head to one side. Claudia had taken her hair out of the braid she had worn earlier that day. The long locks now cascaded attractively around her face.

"Some of us are going out to the pub," added Claudia, "to celebrate Stephen getting out of the hospital. Do you want to come?"

Cutter's lips curled up in a grin.

"Yeah," replied Cutter. "I'd like that."

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	2. Connor's Cards

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Connor's Cards

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The team was established in a new facility, or at least new to the professor, when the next Valentine's Day cards appeared at the ARC. Cutter made a wrong turn in the corridor late one evening. The Scot entered a room filled with computers and assorted equipment. The professor's young protégé was working on a new technical device.

"Why are you still here at this time of night?" asked Cutter.

Connor stood before a conglomeration of wires, circuitry and at least three different monitors. The fingertips of his left hand peeked out from gray fingerless gloves. Holding a copper wire in place, his right hand expertly twirled a screwdriver. The slim grad student didn't take his eyes off the equipment until the connection was secure. Connor looked up at the professor and grinned.

"Abby already went home," explained Connor. The slender fingers gestured towards the jumbled pile of tech. "I wanted to finish the first level…"

A muscular young man poked his head through the open doorway behind Cutter. The professor's lab assistant gave a throaty chuckle.

"Connor, the way you talk about that device," laughed Stephen, "makes it sound like one of your video games."

"Oh no," exclaimed Connor enthusiastically, "this is way better than Halo and Super Mario and…"

The blonde professor smiled and shook his head.

"You can't work all night Connor," reminded the professor, "or you won't be awake to do a test run on the device tomorrow morning."

Dark brown eyes widened at the professor's words.

"Not quite ready for testing yet," protested Connor. "There is still more work assembling the radio magnetic detection array, hooking it up to the monitors, and then I've the programming and I've just got to…"

"Go home," insisted Cutter.

Connor opened his mouth to say something more, but the professor continued speaking.

"Stephen will give you a ride," volunteered the Scot.

The tracker seemed a bit surprised at Cutter's words, but nodded in agreement.

"Yeah Connor," said Stephen, "I'll drop you off, but first I have to stop by Sainsbury's."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Stephen pulled his battered old sports car into the parking lot of the grocery store. The engine rattled and coughed as the lab assistant turned off the ignition.

"Do you want to wait here?" asked Stephen.

"No," yawned Connor. "I'll fall asleep if I sit too long."

The two men entered the brightly lit shop. Stephen thought at first that Connor might help him find the things on his list. The tracker grabbed a shopping basket and pointed.

"Peach preserves are down that aisle," explained Stephen. "Would you grab a jar and meet me on the next aisle?"

But the young scientist was like a kid when it came to shopping. When Connor brought Stephen the peach preserves, the technical wizard was also carrying a jar of Nutella and another container of raspberry jam.

"Connor," said Stephen in exasperation, "I just need to get a few things, not the whole store."

"But you should try this," protested Connor as they walked down to the end of the bread aisle. "It's really good."

The two men turned the corner. Stephen had a sudden inspiration. The lab assistant pointed towards the festive display of multi-colored cards at the end of the next aisle.

"You should get your girlfriend a card for Valentine's Day," urged Stephen. "Take your time, I'll be back when I'm done hunting down the rest of my groceries."

"What?" squawked Connor. "Caroline and I aren't really… I mean, we're just… it's a bit soon isn't it?"

Connor flushed. Stephen looked at the flustered young geek and shook his head fondly.

"Girls like that sort of stuff Connor," explained the more worldly man. "If you're not sure how serious it is yet, don't go for mushy just get something light for now."

Stephen glanced down at his grocery list and didn't see the slightly worried, confused gaze of the younger scientist settle on the muscular man.

"What about Abby?" asked Connor.

Stephen looked up from his list and smiled at Connor.

"Yeah," nodded Stephen, "get Abby a card too. She'll like that."

The tracker turned and disappeared down the aisle. He didn't see the relieved expression on Connor's face.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor hadn't given out Valentine's since primary school and really hadn't thought about cards at all until Stephen suggested them. The grad student could almost hear Abby's voice giving him advice on how to talk to women _"light and flirty"_ and now Stephen had just said nearly the thing about Valentine's cards.

"Maybe that's what I've been doing wrong," Connor berated himself, "totally clueless as usual."

The young man took off the fedora he was wearing and ran his hand across his head. Pushing the dark hair out of his eyes, Connor began to examine the cards.

"This is light," said Connor.

His slender hands held a pink pastel card with candy hearts imprinted on it. The picture hearts were marked with phrases "Wink, Wink" and "Text Me". Opening the card revealed a simple wish for a happy Valentine's Day.

"This card might be alright for Caroline," mumbled Connor as he put the card inside his upturned hat.

The scientist moved to the next display rack. Finding a card for Abby was harder. The scientist picked up first one card and then another, searching for the right words to express his feelings. Connor stared at one card that pictured two little dinosaurs hugging for a long time. The caption above the pair of creatures read "I'm in like with you!" The wording seemed perfect, until Connor opened up the card. The request "Be My Valentine" caused the young man to take a deep breath.

"That's not light," muttered Connor as he put the card back on the display rack.

Connor picked up, read and rejected, over two dozen more cards, but by the time Stephen returned with his shopping basket filled, Connor had two cards in his upturned hat.

"Are you ready to check out?" asked Stephen.

"Don't you want to get a card too?" questioned Connor again nervously.

Stephen looked surprised. Then the taller man rolled his muscular shoulders and smirked.

"Connor," explained Stephen, "usually women get me cards."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor placed the slim brown paper bag containing the cards on the seat beside him. The grad student leaned back against the seat and tilted the fedora forward, blocking the traffic lights from his eyes, as Stephen drove the short distance from the grocery store to Abby's flat.

"Connor," called Stephen, "we're here. Wake up."

The dark haired scientist yawned in his sleep and turned to curl up against the window of the car door. The paper bag containing the cards slipped down between the seat cushions as Stephen attempted to shake the younger man awake.

"Connor," insisted Stephen, "you've got to get up."

Stephen finally got out and walked around the car. Opening the door, the muscular tracker hauled the smaller man out. Feeble protests sounded.

"Walk," order Stephen.

Abby opened the front door before Stephen had to start searching Connor's pockets for keys. The petite woman's blue eyes glared at the two men before her.

"Making all this racket after you go to the pub without me," started the herpetologist.

"We didn't go to the pub," interrupted Stephen. "Cutter asked me to drive him home. Connor was working late again."

The blue eyes softened for a moment as Abby gazed at the blinking form of Connor leaning against Stephen.

"Let's get him on the couch," said Abby, "yeah."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

It wasn't until over two months later, that Stephen pushed back the front passenger seat of his car. The tracker found the brown paper bag. The lab assistant recognized it immediately.

"Rats," sighed Stephen. "Valentine's Day was ages ago."

The muscular young man debated for a moment about whether or not to just go home, but friendship won out. Stephen turned to go back inside the ARC and hunt Connor down. The tracker first checked the tech lab. Connor's device was on display. Stephen glance at the notebook opened beside the machine. A scribbled series of numbers was marked with a cryptic note - entry key. Stephen chuckled and closed the book before returning to his search. The lab assistant finally found Connor in Cutter's office.

"Lester, Jenny, Leek," said Cutter, "will all be there."

"All the kinks are worked out," responded Connor. "The ADD is ready."

"Here," said Stephen. He tossed the brown bag on the desk. The bag skimmed across the shiny wooden surface of Cutter's desk and the brightly colored cards slid out.

"What's this?" asked the Professor picking up the card closest to him.

Connor reddened a bit as he reached for the brown paper bag. The young scientist picked up the card tucked within the pink envelope and the pale green envelope. Connor held out his hand expectantly towards the Professor.

"Bit late now," explained Connor, "but I did buy Valentine's Day cards."

The Professor's eyebrows rose at Connor's remark. Cutter glanced down. The picture on the beige and green card in Cutter's hands portrayed a male figure reaching towards a female figure.

"I didn't know you and the young lass were that close," said Cutter. The professor tried to remember the name of the woman Abby complained about so frequently. "Caroline, right?"

"Oh no," Connor said in a rush, "that card was for Abby."

Under Cutter's continued scrutiny, Connor flushed an even brighter shade of red. Stephen slowly strolled around the desk and looked down over Cutter's shoulder to view the card.

"But with the all the work on the anomaly detection device," continued Connor, "I forgot…"

Cutter raised his hand to stop the conversation.

"It was a good thing that you forgot these cards," stated Cutter firmly.

"What?" asked Connor. "Why?"

"I may be out of practice giving out Valentine cards," admitted Cutter, "but as I recall, a man usually only gives one card out, to one woman."

Connor stared at the professor for a moment. The younger man's mouth opened and closed, and then opened again.

"Stephen said girls like Valentine's Day cards," spluttered Connor, "and that I should get both Caroline and Abby a card…"

"No, no, no," said Stephen. He looked across the desk towards Connor. "You are not blaming me for this."

Cutter attempted to look serious as he tried to hold back his mirth.

"In the future, you might not want to take advice from Stephen," suggested the Professor gently, "on affairs of the heart."

Behind the professor, Stephen bristled. The muscular young man shook his head.

"What do you mean?" asked Stephen.

"Your fiancé dumped you, and you're not seeing anyone now," reminded Cutter looking up at his lab assistant. "I don't think your track record with women is so good."

Nick turned to face Connor again. The Scot thought about the card he had been carrying in his inside coat pocket when he first arrived in this timeline. Not until after the professor had stood on a London street outside a pillared doorway numbered eight had Cutter finally faced the new reality.

"And my track record with women is not much better," admitted Cutter.

Throwing out the white embossed envelope addressed to Claudia Brown had been one of the harder adjustments Cutter had made in this new timeline. But Nick knew, Jenny Lewis was an altogether different person from Claudia Brown. The professor now laid the beige and green card down on the desk between his young protégé and himself. Tapping the card, Cutter continued speaking.

"Abby might not want to receive a Valentine's Day card like this from someone who is dating another woman," added Cutter.

Connor's dark brown eyes stared at the Professor in confusion.

"What do you mean?" asked Connor.

"And your girlfriend might not appreciate your giving this card to Abby," added Stephen with a smirk.

"What's wrong with the card?" asked Connor. "It's light, it's fun."

The grad student glanced from his advisor, to Stephen, then back to Cutter again.

"Right?" questioned Connor.

"I love you more than a Zombie loves brains," read Cutter. "Think about it Connor."

And when Connor still didn't get it, Stephen explained it.

"What do zombies do with brains Connor?"

Connor flushed even redder than Jenny Lewis's lipstick. He scooped the brightly colored card with the image of a decrepit zombie chasing after a scantily clad blonde into the paper bag.

"Yeah," said Connor, "I'll just get rid of these cards."

The dark haired young man got up from seat opposite Cutter and started towards the corridor.

"And Connor," added Stephen with a mischievous grin, "you might want to change the password on the ADD backend before tomorrow's demonstration."

"What?" asked Connor again. His dark brown eyes narrowed as he gazed at his friend. "Why?"

"I saw your notebook, explained Stephen. "58008? I'm not at all tech savvy, but if I can figure it out…"

"Right," replied Connor as he folded the bag and slipped it into his back pocket. "Change the password first, then get rid of the cards."

"And don't write the password down this time," called Cutter as the young man left the room. "Make sure it's something you can remember."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Abby found Connor at the ADD a short while later. The scientist had moved the equipment into the ARC's central room in preparation for tomorrow morning's demonstration.

"Are you still working?" asked the blue eyed woman. "It's past time to go home."

Connor looked up from the keyboard.

"Just got to type one more thing," replied Connor. The technical genius remembered the bag tucked into the back of his jeans. "And get my coat out of the locker."

"Well hurry up," demanded Abby with a teasing smile. "If you're not at the mini in ten minutes, I'm leaving without you."

The creative technical genius typed the last three letters of the new password, P-L-E, as the petite blonde turned and headed to the door. Connor heard her closing words as the corridor door swung shut.

"And it's my turn to pick the movie."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor ran all the way from the ADD to the locker room. The scientist grabbed his jacket and shoved the brown paper bag with the offending Valentine's cards into the farthest recesses of the blue locker labelled with his name. Connor didn't slow down even when he met Lester in the corridor.

"Temple," called Lester, "Slow down. What's the hurry?"

"Movie night," responded Connor breathlessly as he hurried to catch up with Abby.

Was it a bad thing, Connor wondered, to be hoping your girlfriend wouldn't call and interrupt movie night with your best friend?

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	3. Jenny's Card

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Jenny's Card

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The team had new members and new tools when the next Valentine's Day cards entered the ARC. Connor's invention, the anomaly detection device, had been a resounding success, and Cutter's newest project had allowed for the first anomaly prediction. The Scot continued to clip what looked like tent poles together in an effort to make a three dimensional anomaly map, hoping for another prediction. By February 14th, a certain public relations specialist decided that the core team needed something light, something fun, something to get Cutter out of his office and away from those infernal, bendable poles. Jenny was in the debriefing room when Connor found her.

"What'cha doing?" asked the dark haired young scientist.

Jenny glanced toward the doorway. Connor stood there in a red long-sleeved shirt, black pants and a multi-colored waistcoat. The technical genius held his laptop underneath one arm. Connor looked puzzled. The normally austere room was decorated with red paper hearts and crepe paper streamers.

"Setting up for a team building exercise," explained Jenny. As Connor continued to stare at her with a confused expression, she added, "We've been so busy since Becker and Sarah started that we never did give them a proper welcome."

Connor's dark brown eyes blinked. The scientist watched as the ARCs expert on interpersonal communication reached into the large tote bag setting in the chair before her. Jenny pulled out a Maltesers chocolate box and laid it in the center of the long rectangular table.

"They've been working at the ARC for months now," protested Connor. "The pristichampsus at the British Museum already gave them a proper welcome."

"We've all been busy since that incursion," agreed Jenny, "and the one Cutter predicted along with Helen's attempted invasion, but it's been quiet since the holidays…"

"Quiet?" interrupted Connor. "The dilophosaurus last week wasn't quiet! And the parasaurolophus in January…"

Red fingernail polish flashed as Jenny raised up one hand. The young palaeontologist stopped speaking.

"Work with me Connor," coaxed Jenny with a bright smile. "It's just a team building exercise."

The scientist shook his head in disbelief. Connor watched as Jenny reached into the bright red bag again and pulled out small festive red bags decorated with white hearts and ribbon. The woman sauntered around the table, placing the bags in front of each chair.

"One of my teachers in primary school used to put those same kind of bags out every Valentine's Day," commented Connor.

Jenny stopped walking. The lovely lady turned to stare at the young genius. Connor was oblivious to her sudden discomfort.

"Everyone exchanged cards," remembered Connor. The slender man smiled at the memory. Then he blinked. His brown eyes opened wide with another memory. "Jenny, in this team building… are we supposed to exchange Valentine's cards?"

Behind Connor, Jenny could see Lester was now at the doorway. The bureaucrat took a deep breath. Lester's chest puffed out and his lips pursed. There was a momentary silence, then the ARC's director asked a similar question.

"Miss Lewis," huffed Lester icily, "are you decorating for a Valentine's party?"

Jenny flushed slightly, but maintained her composure. The public relations expert faced down the bureaucrat.

"No, of course not," replied Jenny's cool, controlled voice. "This is a team building exercise. Routine really, I'm just using seasonal decorations."

Lester stepped past Connor into the room. The director's sharp green eyes took in every detail of Jenny's preparations. The bureaucrat read the names written on the bags: Abby, Connor, Sarah, Becker, Nick, Jenny.

"Just six bags?" asked Lester. "The ARC employs dozens of people."

"A team building exercise for the core field team only," clarified Jenny.

The expression on the bureaucrat's face seemed to grow sterner. Lester's manicured hand gestured dismissively toward the festive decorations.

"These will have to go," said Lester. "Your team building decorations will interfere with the presentation we have planned for this afternoon."

"But, but…," began Jenny.

Behind Lester, Connor held his laptop up higher. The scientist pointed from his laptop to the projection screen on the far wall. Too late Jenny realized the implications.

"Lester," asked Jenny, "will you be attending this afternoon's meeting?"

"Yes," replied the bureaucrat in a bored tone that seemed to indicate he had no desire to be at the meeting. "Someone has to supervise you lot."

Lester turned abruptly. Jenny watched as the older man moved to exit the room. Lester stopped, framed within the doorway, and turned for one last comment.

"The ARC is a government research facility," reminded Lester before he disappeared down the corridor.

Jenny felt embarrassed. She sighed as Connor joined the public relations specialist beside the table. The technical genius laid his laptop down beside the chocolate box. Connor peeked inquisitively over the edge of Jenny's open tote bag.

"Oh," teased Connor, "you do have Valentines in here."

Jenny snatched the bag from the chair before Connor could look past the big box of assorted Valentines. She didn't want the professor's protégé to see the special card that she had selected for Nick.

"A team building exercise," repeated Jenny stiffly. From Connor's grin, she doubted he believed her, the words sounded false even to herself. So she tried again. "Valentines are a good way to start showing our appreciation for each other."

Connor grinned and for a moment looked even younger than his twenty-seven years. Dark brown eyebrows waggled up and down.

"Oh yeah," chuckled Connor. He tried to look serious for a moment. "Jenny, I love it when you break me out of lockup."

The snort of laughter that followed his words caused Jenny to giggle too. The woman's long dark hair swayed as Jenny shook her head ruefully.

"Not my best idea," admitted Jenny.

"And can't you see Becker drawing hearts and saying I love dinosaurs," continued Connor.

"You're impossible," laughed Jenny.

Connor helped her pack up the bags and take down the paper hearts and streamers, but she insisted the chocolate box stay on the table. Jenny soon left the scientist to set up the presentation for the afternoon meeting. When she reached her office, Jenny reached in to the tote bag and withdrew the card with Nick Cutter's name penned neatly across the envelope.

"I should just ask him out for a drink," said Jenny as she slipped the card into her bottom desk drawer. "Of course, he'd probably call me Claudia again."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor hurried from the debriefing room as soon as he finished setting up the laptop and visual display equipment for the afternoon meeting's presentation. Once the scientist reached the men's locker room, he opened his locker and began pulling things out haphazardly.

"It's got to be here," muttered Connor. "I know I didn't throw it out."

Becker entered the locker room just a few minutes later. The tall soldier stopped and stared at the mess surrounding the ARC's technical wizard. A pile of miscellaneous clothing and objects surrounded Connor.

"Temple, what are you doing?" asked the soldier.

Connor jerked up in surprise, banging his head on the shelf inside the locker. The scientist turned to stare at the black clad security officer.

"Becker," exclaimed the scientist. Connor's face flushed and instead of answering, he asked a question of his own. "What are you doing here?"

The captain shrugged and started to take off his Kevlar vest. The black shirt beneath his vest was streaked with a creamy white liquid.

"Sarah ran into me," explained Becker, "she was carrying a cappuccino."

The soldier set the vest on the bench seat in front of the locker and began to peel off the wet shirt. Connor could hear the soldier's muffled voice.

"She wiped off the vest," continued Becker. The soldier's head protruded from the shirt he now held in his hands. The captain glanced meaningfully at his locker, right next to Connor's locker. "However, the shirt is soaked."

"Yeah, wet shirts are just awful," agreed Connor with a nod. "Especially with chafing, and…"

The sound that emanated from the soldier sounded oddly like a smilodon's growl. Connor stopped rambling and looked at where Becker was staring.

"I want to change my shirt, only I can't get to my locker…," began Becker.

The genius scrambled to gather his stuff from the floor in front of Becker's locker. Spare boots, a rumpled purple t-shirt, two notebooks, what looked suspiciously like a broken blow dryer, and several unmatched socks were hastily stuffed back into Connor's locker.

"Have you ever cleaned out your locker?" asked Becker as he stepped forward.

From the expression on Connor's face, it was doubtful. However, before Connor could answer, an anomaly alert sounded. Becker hurriedly pulled his dry shirt on and grabbed his vest. The soldier followed the scientist towards the clanging alarm.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The afternoon meeting and Lester's presentation didn't happen that day. The iguanodon incursion wasn't dangerous, but it was time consuming trying to herd the creatures back through the anomaly to their proper time. It was evening by the time Nick, Jenny, Becker, Connor and Abby returned from Crystal Palace Park. The group met Sarah in the hub. Jenny could see Lester through the glass in his office up above them.

"Sarah," exclaimed Connor. "You should have seen the iguanodon beside the sculpture. It was supercool!"

"The dinosaurs at Crystal Palace," said the archeologist, "are some of the earliest sculptured dinosaurs known. I wonder if an anomaly has opened there before?"

Cutter smiled and started to say something, but Jenny spoke first.

"I'm just glad we got them all back through to their own time," said Jenny. She took a deep breath, glancing from one face to another, Jenny continued. "What do you say we all go out to the pub for a drink?"

"Oh," said Sarah, nodding her head in agreement, "that sounds like fun."

Connor and Abby turned to face each other. The pair hurriedly whispered together, while Becker stopped moving and stood as if at attention. Cutter tilted his head and looked at Jenny as if he were remembering something important.

"Consider it team building," added Jenny.

Connor made a surprised sound. Jenny stared at the young scientist and widened her smile determinedly. She turned to the rest of the group.

"I'll just get my purse."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

When Jenny returned to the hub a few minutes later, she was surprised to find only Sarah, Becker and Lester in the room.

"Abby and Connor left to go feed their pets first," explained Sarah. "They will meet us at The Harp and Dragon as soon as they can."

"And Nick?" asked Jenny.

"Cutter left first," answered Becker.

Jenny stared at the soldier. She thought Becker's hazel eyes blinked just a bit under her scrutiny, but she couldn't be sure. Jenny turned to look at Lester. He didn't usually come down from his office this early.

"I reminded the professor he has a report to finish for the minister," dissembled Lester.

Jenny didn't see Becker's eyebrow go up at Lester's remark. She masked her disappointment with a broad smile. Facing Lester, she forced herself to speak cheerfully.

"I'll just have to ask Cutter some other time," said Jenny. "What about you Lester? Do you want to join us for a drink at the pub?"

The bureaucrats green eyes brightened warmly. For a minute, Jenny thought the man was going to say yes. Lester's lips curled up in a real smile.

"No, my wife should be arriving shortly," answered Lester. "We have dinner reservations, it is Valentine's Day after all."

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	4. The First Valentine

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

The First Valentine

-x-x-x-x-x-x

It wasn't until the team was disbanded, scattered through time and space, that the first of the ARCs many Valentines was actually delivered, sort of.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

In Aylesbury, Lester's cell phone rang. Lester's green eyes narrowed. Only two people had that number, and his wife was sitting across the breakfast table from the former bureaucrat. The slender woman looked at him inquiringly.

"James," coaxed Lester's wife, "you've been best friends since you were five. You've got to talk to him some time."

"Fine," Lester huffed as he reached for the phone.

After the initial loss of four of the core team members, the ARC had been shut down, its' remaining team members dispersed. However, Lester soon learned the powers that be, had cause to regret that decision. The anomalies didn't close just because the ARC was closed.

"Jimmy," pleaded the minister, "just go to the interview. It's only a formality, bureaucratic red tape."

"I'm busy looking for a new job," replied James Lester into his cell phone.

"You and the ARC will be reinstated," assured Lester's old friend. "There might be some sort of public private partnership, you know, to get extra funding…"

"I still make all personnel choices," insisted Lester.

"Of course Jimmy," replied the senior government official. "But you have to go through the interview first."

Lester rolled his eyes. The bureaucrat knew that jumping through governmental hoops was part of the process, but that didn't mean he enjoyed it.

"And I want Becker back," added Lester. "He's reinstated too, in charge of security, or it's no deal."

"Done," replied the minister.

"If you hurry with the funding and appropriations, to buy new equipment and set up new offices," replied Lester in a dry tone, "we might get the new ARC up and running by February."

"February?" spluttered the minister.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

In Worthington, after resigning his commission, Becker spent the next several months building a treehouse for his nieces. Or at least that's what the former Captain claimed. There was an awful lot of pounding nails involved. On a sunny day in late November, the soldier stopped hammering to take the cell phone his sister brought outside to him.

"Captain Becker," said the unfamiliar voice on the cell phone.

"Just Becker," corrected the tall man. "I'm not in her majesties service anymore."

"The ministry is going to reinstate the ARC," said the voice. "There are interviews planned in December. If you withdraw your resignation, the job is yours. James Lester wants you."

Becker reported to the ARCs new London facility in early February. The soldier met a pretty, vivacious brunette near the elevator.

"I'm looking for Parker," explained Becker.

"That's me," replied the new field coordinator cheerfully, "Jess Parker at your service."

The petite young woman extended her hand and gave the soldier a bright smile. The warmth of her touch as Becker shook her hand in return brought an answering smile to the soldier's face.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

In West Chelmsford, Jenny was determined to build a new life for herself. The brave woman had left the ARC shortly after Cutter's death the previous year. Connecting with old friends, and making new friends at her new job, the public relations specialist was putting the past behind her.

"Jenny," called a pretty blonde. The woman standing at Jenny's new office door pushed her glasses up on her nose. "Tracie, Sylvia and I are going out for drinks Saturday. Do you want to come?"

Jenny looked up at her new friend. Cassandra Evans was the lead research assistant for the news broadcasting company that now employed Jenny. The dark haired woman smiled warmly.

"That sounds like fun Cassie," agreed Jenny. "Where?"

"The Green Man Lounge," answered Cassie. "The food is great and they've got a new band playing. You have to see the lead singer. He's gorgeous!"

"If he's a singer, shouldn't I be more interested in hearing him?" laughed Jenny.

The tall slender blonde rolled her eyes. Jenny's new friend, Cassie, fancied herself a bit of a matchmaker and had been introducing Jenny around West Chelmsford.

"His voice is even better, and he plays three different instruments," replied Cassie. "I've known Michael since uni. He's a great guy. You'll love him."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The ARC's newest team member, Danny Quinn, was initially stuck in the Pliocene. The early hominids took an interest in the detective and followed the tall red head around the valley. The London copper and the pre-humans both learned from each other. The tiny people showed Danny where to find edible tubers and grubs. In turn, Danny inadvertently taught the hominids how to make a fire.

"No telling how the time line is going to change because of this," grumbled Danny when he caught a hairy male watching him break up dry wood and strike a spark with the flint in his survival backpack.

A few evenings later, the hominid demonstrated his new skill to the rest of his family. The big human grinned proudly to see his student bringing warmth and light to the hominid camp.

"Now where did you find flint?" wondered Danny in surprise. "I feel like Prometheus."

An anomaly opened nearly three months after Danny had been separated from Connor and Abby. For the first time since the red head had made friends with the hominid family, the tiny people hung back, refusing to follow.

"If there's a way to get home," explained Danny to the curious pre-humans, "I've got to try."

The tall red head grabbed his favorite walking stick and saluted the hominids before stepping through the glittering shimmering fracture in time.

"If Helen can travel through time," muttered Danny, "I can make it back home."

The tall red head looked around the new landscape. Lush green growth appeared before Danny. A flock of large birds flew across the cloudless sky above him.

"Doesn't look too bad," said Danny.

The stick Danny carried thumped in agreement as the copper started down the gentle slope moving away from the anomaly. A familiar loud chirping noise stopped him in his tracks. Danny stepped to one side, hiding in the cover of the leafy trees.

"I've heard that before," said Danny.

The red head scanned the surrounding area carefully, looking for the creature that made the warning noise. He soon found it.

"Phorusrhacid," said Danny with a frown. "Looks like I made a wrong turn on the time road."

The dangerous bird like creature seemed to be attracted to the shiny anomaly. The terror bird walked toward the shimmering doorway to another time.

"Oh no you don't," said Danny. "Those little guys won't stand a chance with you."

The copper stepped out from his hiding place and swung his favorite walking stick. By the time Danny subdued the Phorusrhacid, the anomaly was closed and his stick had a name. Molly was a red head too. Danny's first night in the new time zone, he roasted the dangerous bird for dinner.

"Taste's like chicken."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

In the Cretaceous, Abby and Connor were dealing with struggles of their own. Eight months on their own, fighting to stay alive, had changed the relationship between the pair in some ways. In other ways, not so much.

"Really Conn?"

Abby's incredulous tone caused the dark haired scientist to look up from the ground he was kneeling on.

"We're supposed to be looking for food," reminded Abby. "Roots, bulbs…"

"Yummy," replied Connor without much enthusiasm.

"Not rocks!"

The impatience in the blonde's voice registered on Connor. The dark haired scientist added the small white rock to his pocket and stood up.

"Right," agreed Connor.

Abby's blue eyes rolled in exasperation. Connor had been collecting things off and on ever since they had climbed down from that tree the first morning in the cretaceous. Some things, like the sharp rock and the stick that Connor had crafted to make into the spear he now carried, had proved useful. Other things, like the assortment of dinosaur teeth, not so much. The blonde had explained to Connor that he couldn't keep samples of everything he saw, but his natural curiosity sometimes got the better of him. Like now.

"What's with the rocks Connor?" asked Abby.

Dark brown eyes opened wide. Abby's suspicions were aroused by Connor trying to look innocent.

"What are you up to Connor?" asked Abby. "You've been collecting pebbles for weeks now."

"Nothing," replied Connor. In a rush, he added, "We should split up, cover more ground, find more food, yeah."

"Yeah," agreed Abby.

The blonde nodded reluctantly. She and Connor usually did their gathering together, but the forest was quiet today. Searching for roots and bulbs didn't usually take them into the same areas that the carnivores travelled. Hunting separately was a good idea.

"Just…," hesitated Abby, "be careful."

"Later yeah," said Connor. The scientist pointed in the direction of the river. "I'll go this way."

"And I still want to know about the rocks," called Abby as the scientist strode away.

Connor turned to look back at her and grinned.

"Meet me by the waterfall later," replied Connor, "and I'll tell you then."

It was late afternoon when Abby started towards the waterfall. She found Connor sitting on a rocky ledge on the river bank near the base of the falls. The slender scientist rose to stand as she approached. Abby narrowed her eyes. Connor was shifting his weight from one foot to another, fidgeting like he did when he was nervous.

"Abby," greeted Connor.

"What have you been up to Connor?" asked Abby. While she carried a half dozen of the potato like roots that formed the staple of their diet, she didn't see any roots or tubers near Connor.

"Abby," repeated Connor, he swallowed and licked his lips before continuing. "I've been keeping track of the days, and I personally would like to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day."

"What?" exclaimed Abby in surprise.

Connor had been keeping a calendar of sorts and had wished her Merry Christmas and Happy New Year not so long ago. The pair's relationship had deepened in the cretaceous in so many ways, but there had been no time for holiday celebrations. Yet Connor had decided to wish her a Happy Valentines Day. Misunderstanding her question, Connor answered hurriedly.

"Today is Valentine's Day," babbled the scientist. "I'm sure of it… or at least ninety-nine percent sure of it."

The scientist gestured towards the waterfall. Abby stepped closer and looked past Connor to the normally smooth sandy brown river bank. Hearts were drawn on the sandy shore of the river bank, outlined in tiny white pebbles.

"It's not a proper card," explained Connor. The technical genius got flustered as Abby continued to stare wordlessly. "I mean… I know… it's not…"

Abby walked down the slope to see the hearts closer. Connor had written names inside of each heart. She smiled as she read the names of their friends, all the people they were missing. Jenny's name was first. The heart with Sarah Page's name was closely followed by the one bearing Danny Quinn's name. A double heart was labelled Lester and Mrs. Lester. Abby looked at the next heart, stopped and turned to Connor in surprise.

"Hilary?" asked Abby. "Really? Becker?"

Connor nodded.

Abby stepped further down the shoreline. Another double heart was there. She read the names of Claudia Brown and Nick Cutter.

"Aww," sighed Abby. She looked up at Connor, her blue eyes tearing suddenly. "Do you think…"

"I know they're together," replied Connor firmly. "Somehow. Somewhere."

Hearts with the names of Stephen, Rex, Sid and Nancy followed. Abby stopped at the last pair of hearts drawn on the sand. Abby. Connor. Side by side, touching, but not entwined like the other double hearts. She looked over at Connor again. He was doing that nervous shifting motion again, almost swaying side to side.

"Abby, I just wanted to…," began Connor, "I mean…"

"Connor," said Abby.

The genius stopped babbling and watched as she knelt down beside the two hearts drawn in the sand. Abby gently brushed away the sandy line and rearranged the tiny white pebbles, linking their hearts together.

"Now, it's perfect," said Abby. The blonde rose and turned to face Connor. "It's the best Valentine's Day Card ever."

"Well it's not really a card you know," replied Connor. "I mean not a proper card…"

Abby stepped closer towards him. She stood so close she could breathe in the air Connor exhaled.

"Connor," said Abby tenderly as she reached a hand up to pull Connor's head closer to her, "shut up."

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	5. Connor's Cards Again

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Connor's Cards Again

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The remnants of the original team joined together with new members once more in a new ARC.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

"They're back!" exclaimed the youngest member of the ARC's team.

Lester looked up, startled. Jess, the field coordinator, ran to his office doorway. The pretty young brunette was smiling broadly.

"They're back," repeated Jess. "Abby and Connor came through the anomaly!"

There was a sudden lurch in Lester's chest. The man's green eyes lit up for a moment with an expression of joy before his eyelids lowered, masking Lester's true feelings. The bureaucrat gave Jess the briefest of smiles.

"And Danny?" questioned the director.

Lester held his breath, but he was now speaking to an empty doorway. It would take something as momentous as the return of their lost team members to get Jess to leave her station for even a minute during an alert. The conscientious young woman had already turned and quickly moved back to her station. At the ADD, Jess began giving directions in a calm, crisp tone of voice.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Abby and Connor gazed in wonder as they entered the new ARC. So far, Becker, had been the only person the pair had recognized. Now, in this new building, everything seemed different, but then they saw another familiar face.

"What took you so long?" asked Lester. "Did you miss the last bus?"

The ARC's director stood before them dressed in a blue tailored suit. The impeccable fit declared the suit to be one of Savile Row's finest. Lester's arms were crossed and the bureaucrat looked as if he were about to scold them for tardiness. But the blinking of his misty green eyes betrayed Lester's true feelings.

"Something like that," agreed Connor with a chuckle.

Abby impulsively ran over and hugged the bureaucrat. And while Lester hugged her back, he stopped Connor. The director tried to put on his public façade again, but one more question remained.

The bureaucrat's voice broke as Lester asked, "What about Danny?"

"He went on ahead," replied Connor.

The green eyes blinked again, and Lester took a deep breath. The bureaucrat's features settled into a cold, aloof expression, not even changing when Abby asked about another missing teammate.

"And Sarah?" asked Abby

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Becker and Jess could see through the glass panes into Lester's office. Lester's face remained impassive, but the Captain and the Field Coordinator didn't need to hear the words Philip spoke to recognize the anguish in Abby and Connor's faces. The tall soldier closed his eyes for a brief moment to shut out the painful image.

"So harsh," whispered Jess.

Becker opened his hazel eyes gratefully. The young woman had said what the taciturn soldier couldn't.

"We can't lose them again," replied Becker softly.

Jess stepped closer. She placed a small hand on the soldier's arm.

"This is all very sudden," comforted Jess, "but I'm sure Lester can get Philip to change his mind."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The next morning, Abby and Connor, clean and dressed in matching blue stretch clothing, went in search of the possessions Jess assured them had been kept safely waiting for the couples return. The storage room was in the lower level of the new ARC. Connor took an exacto knife and ran it through the plastic wrap that surrounded the metal lockers.

"Somebody must have brought the locker's over from the old ARC," said the petite blonde.

"And that would be me," admitted Lester. The ARCs director stepped out of the shadows as he came forward.

The suit jacket was off. Lester's red tie and brightly colored suspenders looked oddly out of place in this cold gray storage room. There was a brief conversation, and by the time the director left, Abby had a job again. The promise of a year's back pay was a start to rebuilding the couple's life in London. And more importantly, Abby and Connor knew Lester wanted them back on the team.

"It's complicated," Lester tried to explain. "I need you to keep a low profile. And Connor, please stay out of trouble."

The director hurried away as Connor opened the door to his locker. Abby turned to look as the contents of Connor's locker started falling to the floor.

"Was Lester right?" asked Abby. Her lips curled up in a smirk. "Do you have vintage girlie magazines and super-hero action figures in there?"

"Dunno what I've got in here really," replied the slender scientist. Connor rubbed his whiskered chin for a moment, before kneeling at foot of his locker. "Can't remember. Do you want to help me sort through this stuff?"

"Sure," replied Abby. "I'll get a bin first."

"What?" exclaimed Connor.

Abby laughed as she went in search of a waste basket. By the time she returned, Connor had sorted most of the fallen items into three piles. Books and notebooks were stacked haphazardly in the first pile. Miscellaneous pieces of clothing, some that Abby recognized and some she didn't, were in the second pile. The third pile looked to be ready for the bin.

"Connor," laughed Abby. She knelt beside the scientist and reached for the broken blow dryer. "What are you doing with this old thing?"

"Parts," replied Connor.

"Rubbish," stated Abby.

She scooped her old hair dryer up and tossed it into the waste basket. Broken pencils, slender caps to ink pens, large dried up markers with no caps, a squashed paper cup and three small black rubber tires followed in short order. She turned to look at Connor. The scientist had opened the lower portion of his locker.

"What else Connor?" asked Abby.

The dark haired man pulled out a black rucksack and a familiar pair of shoes.

"Mainly clothes down here," answered Connor. The scientist hurriedly started shoving items into the rucksack. "Nothing to throw away."

"Hmmph," chuckled Abby. The blue eyed woman stood up and peered into the top portion of his locker. "It looks like there is more garbage up here."

Abby pulled the frayed pink scarf from the top shelf. Behind the unraveled yarn, she saw a crumpled brown paper bag and some wadded up envelopes. The petite blonde stood on her tiptoes and reached. Something was stuck. Abby gave another tug on the scarf. She rocked back on her heels as the last items pulled free of the shelf. The scarf, a brown paper bag, two scrunched up cards, a crumpled pink envelope and an equally crumpled green envelope rained down on Connor's head.

"What?" spluttered Connor. His brown eyes opened wide in recognition. The pink card had landed candy hearts side up on the floor in front of him. The beige and green card had landed face down. The scientist scrambled to reach for the cards, but too late. Abby was also reaching for the cards.

"Did you get me a Valentine's day card?" asked Abby as she picked up the pink and white card. A soft smile started to cross her face as she began to smooth out the crumpled paper and read the card.

"That's not for you," blurted out Connor. Too late Connor realized his mistake. The smile had disappeared from Abby's face and her blue eyes were gazing at him sternly. Connor tried to recover, he'd never written anything on the cards. "It's not anybody's card, not really. It's old, it's garbage."

Connor snatched the card from Abby's hand and stuffed it hastily into the waste basket.

"There! See!" announced Connor triumphantly.

"Right," said Abby slowly.

To Connor's horror, Abby reached for the brown and beige card. She turned the bent and crumpled card upright. The yellow hair, red shirt, and blue shorts of the brightly colored female figure stood out in this gray room. The zombie, trailing red blood and green slime, was even brighter.

"And is this garbage too?" asked Abby.

"Yes," declared Connor.

The scientist took the second card from her and added it to the bin as well. Connor gazed at Abby nervously. For a moment, he hardly dared breathe. Then Abby smiled.

"It's okay Connor," soothed Abby. "I've got old Valentines too."

Connor blinked. His mouth opened and closed wordlessly as Abby stood up.

"I'm going back upstairs now, to see about that job in the menagerie," added Abby. "Find us a place to live, yeah."

"Yeah," answered Connor.

Abby started down the corridor, but she turned back and looked at Connor once more. She smirked.

"And Connor, I loved the Valentine you made in the cretaceous," called Abby, "but for the next Valentine's Day, I'd like a card that I can keep."

"Yeah," agreed Connor. His head nodded up and down. "Sure thing Abby."

"Preferably with no zombies."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

A day later, Connor had a job again too. Becker showed him to the men's locker room. The new locker swung open, empty and spacious.

"Don't stuff this locker full of junk like your old one," teased Becker with a smirk.

"It's not junk!" protested Connor. The scientist placed his battered fedora on the top shelf. "It's important."

Becker nodded, but his hazel eyes twinkled. Matt entered the locker room in time to hear Connor's next words.

"But I do need to get a new Valentine's Day card," added Connor.

Becker coughed, trying to cover his surprise. The soldier exchanged a glance with the team leader. Part of Abby and Connor's debriefing had included telling them the current date and the events of the past year.

"February is not for another ten months Connor," reminded Becker, but Connor continued talking as if the soldier hadn't said anything.

"Where is a good place to find a Valentine's Day card?" asked Connor. "I don't want to wait until the last minute you know."

"Can't say," responded Becker. "Haven't bought a Valentine's Day card lately."

"Yeah, Becker started back at the ARC on Valentine's Day earlier this year," added Matt. With a teasing glance at the soldier, Matt continued, "He couldn't get a date."

Connor turned towards the team leader.

"What about you Matt?" asked Connor eagerly. "Where is a good place to find a Valentine's Day card?"

"Never really felt the need," replied Matt. His lips curled up in a sardonic grin. "But if I ever need help finding a Valentine's Day card, Connor, I'll let you know."

Matt turned to Becker.

"I'll be out," explained the team leader. "Call me if there is an alert."

The team leader left abruptly, leaving Becker and Connor standing in front of the lockers. Connor turned back to face the locker. The young scientist unzipped the black rucksack and pulled out a pink binder. He placed it carefully on the shelf beside his hat.

"Is he always like that?" asked Connor with a sideways glance at the soldier.

"Yeah," answered Becker. "Pretty much."

"Right," nodded Connor. He took off his jacket and hung it from the hook. "Not as friendly as Jess."

"Matt means well," replied Becker.

"Maybe," said Connor. He set the rucksack down inside the locker. "It just seems weird that he never felt the need to find a Valentine's Day card. Don't you think?"

Beside him, Becker shifted uncomfortably. Matt's comment had also seemed odd to the soldier, but then not everyone celebrates Valentine's Day the same way.

"I haven't given out Valentine's Day cards since school days," answered Becker.

Connor's face lit up with a huge grin.

"But you've been giving out chocolate," chortled Connor. "Some women think that's even more important than Valentine's Day cards."

Becker flushed. He tried to change the subject from his chocolate buying habits.

"You've got plenty of time to find a new card," said the soldier.

Connor started to respond, but an anomaly alert sounded. The two men looked at each other. Connor slammed the locker shut and followed Becker as he ran towards the hub.

"What have we got?"

"It's a theatre on Cooper street," replied Jess.

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	6. Valentines

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Valentines

-x-x-x-x-x-x

After the events of New Dawn and Convergence, the team settled into a new routine. Anomalies were now public knowledge, but that didn't seem to change the ARC's mission, at least not much.

"We'd love to have you back," assured Lester.

"I can't say I've missed the creatures," admitted Jenny, "but I have missed all of you."

Jenny and her husband Michael moved to London. The public relations specialist finally got to coordinate a team building exercise when she rejoined the team.

"Here's a menu, mark down what you want for dinner," instructed Jenny, "we'll get take-aways and catch up on old times."

"Really old times?" asked Connor. "Or any old times?"

Jenny rolled her eyes at Connor's joke, but the team dinner went over well.

"We should do this every Tuesday," said Abby.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

It wasn't until after the New Year that Matt approached Connor about Valentine's cards. The events of the past ten months had wrought changes in the team leader from the future. No longer having to keep secrets from his friends allowed the reserved man to share his feelings more. And now, from the way the team leader kept shifting his weight from one foot to another, it was obvious, Matt was nervous.

"What's wrong?" asked the newlywed.

Connor placed his new trilby on the top shelf in his locker. Sitting on the bench in front of the locker beside the dark haired scientist, Becker looked up in concern.

"I haven't heard an anomaly alert," began the soldier.

"No, no," soothed the team leader. His soft lilting voice continued, "it's just… I just had a question… about customs in this time period."

Both Connor and Becker stared at Matt. The two men waited. Matt glanced from one side to another. No one else was in the men's locker room, yet still the team leader lowered his voice.

"When I first met you Connor," began Matt, "you were going on about Valentine's Day cards."

"Yeah," agreed Connor as he remembered his first day working at the new ARC. Connor slipped off his jacket and hung it on the hook inside the locker. "I wanted to impress Abby with the perfect card."

"So did you find the perfect card?" asked Matt.

"No," answered Connor. He smiled softly, remembering some special whispered words. "A card could never show how much I love Abby. All I really had to do was be myself."

"So you didn't get a card," breathed Matt in relief. "Celebrating Valentine's Day isn't important in this time."

A surprised squawk sounded from Connor. Dark brown eyes met hazel eyes as Connor and Becker glanced at each other.

"I didn't say Valentine's Day isn't important," blurted out Connor.

"That's not what Connor meant," added Becker. The tall soldier rose to stand. He zipped up his black Kevlar vest. "There are lots of ways to show someone that you care."

Connor nodded. The normally quiet soldier started counting off different ways, ticking off his fingers as he spoke.

"Cards, flowers, candy," began Becker. "Dinner reservations…"

"Hmmph," interrupted Connor. "Are you going to take your own advice there Becker?"

The captain glowered at the dark haired scientist. Matt looked from one friend to another in confusion.

"I can make dinner reservations," responded Becker.

"Ooh hoo!" Connor exclaimed happily. He raised a slender hand clad in blue fingerless gloves in a traditional high five motion. "You finally asked Jess out!"

But Becker didn't clap Connor's hand in return. The soldier just stared at Connor until the smaller man lowered his hand.

"You did ask Jess out," questioned Connor, "didn't you?"

"Jess and I have been having dinner together every Tuesday since convergence," reminded Becker.

"Tuesday dinners are work stuff," replied Connor. "It's not the same!"

The scientist glanced at Matt for support, but the man from the future appeared totally clueless.

"For Valentine's, the dinner has to be special," continued Connor. "just the two of you… and you have to ask… it's important."

This time, it was Becker and Matt who exchanged a glance. The team leader's lips curled up in a smirk.

"So Connor," asked Matt, "did you ask your wife out for Valentine's Day?"

Connor's face lit up with a huge grin.

"Yes, I asked Abby what she would like to do for our first Valentine's Day as a married couple," answered Connor. If anything, his grin grew even bigger. "We're having dinner at home."

The scientist moved past Matt and pushed open the doorway to the corridor.

"And, since Victorian's started the Valentine's card tradition, I checked with Emily," continued Connor. "Got some really good advice on the best kind of Valentine's cards."

"So Emily thinks Valentine's cards are important?" asked Matt.

"Oh yeah," replied the genius. Connor's dark brown eyes twinkled, and his eyebrows waggled up and down. "And if you want some advice from the only married man in this room, you might want to think that Valentine's Day is important too."

Matt's mouth gaped for a moment. Connor stepped through the doorway and disappeared down the hallway.

"Right," murmured Becker as the door swung shut.

Becker glanced at Matt. The team leader looked panicked. It was two weeks until Valentine's Day

"Where is a good place to find a Valentine's Day card?" asked Matt.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Becker found Jess in the break room. She was fixing a cup of cappuccino from the fancy machine the Vice Admiral of the Royal Navy had sent over before the Christmas holidays. The pretty brunette looked up as the tall soldier entered the room. Her bright smile brought an answering smile to the captain's face.

"Jess," began Becker hesitantly. "I was wondering…"

The young woman looked up at the captain as he stepped closer, really closer, intruding on her personal space closer… not that she minded.

"Yes," prompted Jess, "you were wondering…"

Becker blushed. There was no help for it. Every time the soldier was around Jess, he was reduced to fumbling and bumbling.

"Would you like to have dinner with me?" blurted out Becker. "I mean… not take-away Tuesday… not work related… but a proper dinner. Out. Just you and me?"

Jess stared. The quiet soldier had rarely said that many words at one time. And now, Jess wasn't quite sure if she had heard right.

"Dinner," repeated Jess. "Out, just you and me? Like a date?"

The soldier nodded. His hazel eyes never left her face.

"Like a date," agreed Becker. "Actually, yes, a date."

Jess's eyes lit up and her smile broadened. She only just stopped herself from jumping up and down in excitement.

"I'd love to," agreed Jess. "When?"

"Friday after next," answered the brave soldier. "Valentine's Day."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

A week later, and Matt was getting desperate. The man from the future approached Connor in the scientist's lab.

"Connor, when you asked Emily about Valentines," asked Matt, "what did she say?"

The scientist looked up from his work table. Tools, wires and circuitry boards were scattered across the table top. A framed picture of Connor and Abby, taken on their honeymoon in Dorset, was beside his laptop.

"Most of the first valentines were handmade," answered Connor, "ribbons, lace, fancy paper, and really talented people wrote poems."

"Seriously?" groaned Matt. "I can't write poetry."

"Me neither," chuckled Connor.

"Did you make a card for Abby?" asked Matt.

Connor's dark brown eyes gleamed. He put down the small screw driver and reached for the top drawer of his desk. Sliding it open, he revealed a heavy green piece of folded paper. Sand was glued and sprinkled across the top in the shape of a heart. Opening the card, Connor had glued and sprinkled tiny flat white rocks in the shape of a heart. A hand written endearment read "Abby, you rock my world. Love Connor."

"The sand and rocks came from the beach," said Connor. The dark haired man pointed at the picture taken in front of the Durdle Door. "It's Jurassic really, not cretaceous, but I think Abby will like it."

"It's beautiful," said Matt. "I'm sure Abby will like it."

Connor looked at his friend. Matt still looked worried.

"I asked Emily out," said Matt. The team leader named the restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental.

Connor gave a low whistle. The well-known place was a bit pricey.

"The restaurant cooks authentic Victorian recipes," explained Matt, "and being so close to Hyde Park… I hope she likes it."

"The important thing is really just to think about the person you want to give the card to," confided Connor. "And be yourself."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Really?" asked Jenny. "You have to work on Valentine's day?"

"The lot of a musician," responded Michael. The man stepped closer and wrapped his arms around his wife. "When you get off work on Friday, come to the club. Please."

"A crowded bar scene is not what I had in mind for our first Valentine's Day as a married couple," harrumphed Jenny.

Michael leaned closer and kissed the side of Jenny's face. He trailed kisses down the side of her face, down her throat and over her shoulder. When he reached the narrow strap of her camisole, Michael nipped it with his teeth.

"With you," said Michael, "every day is Valentine's Day."

"Hmmph, I suppose we could celebrate early," replied Jenny with a smile. Her face was flushed with warmth as Michael continued to kiss and stroke her body. "On Friday, you better save me a table."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Matt went to pick up Emily promptly at seven. The Victorian woman had a cozy flat within walking distance of the ARC. The man from the future looked at the heavy brass knocker on the door. The lion's eyes had a decidedly ferocious glint. Matt reached for the knocker, but the door opened before him.

"Matt," greeted Emily.

She looked stunning. The Victorian's dark hair cascaded in soft waves over one shoulder. The white button down shirt and form fitting blue jeans showed off her figure. Matt's mouth opened and shut again. He swallowed, and then thrust the plant he held forward.

"Arbutus," said Matt. "From the family Ericaceae…"

Their fingers touched as Emily took the small green plant from Matt's hands. She backed up into the vestibule of her flat, pushing the door open wider with her body.

"When it gets bigger," continued Matt, "it will flower and have red berries."

"A strawberry tree, mandrones," said Emily with a small nod. "In the language of flowers…"

"Thee only do I love," finished Matt.

Emily's lips parted in a warm smile.

"Matt, I know you made dinner reservations," said Emily, "but would you like to come inside. We could cook dinner together… if you like."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor was in the front room of home he and Abby had bought with their twelve months of back pay from their time in the cretaceous. He added another log to the blaze in the fireplace. The sound of a resounding crash came from the kitchen, followed by a wail.

"Abby!"

Connor jumped up and hurried to the rear of the modest home. Abby stood in front of the cantankerous old oven. The dish she held in her hands looked to be decidedly overdone.

"Are you all right?" asked Connor.

Blue eyes looked up from the burnt dinner. Tears welled up in Abby's eyes.

"I wanted it to be perfect," she said in a small voice. "And now it's ruined."

Connor picked up the other oven mitt and took the heavy casserole dish from her. He set the dish down on the stove top and turned off the oven. Then Connor pulled his wife closer to him. He wrapped his arms around the petite blonde and kissed the top of her forehead. Abby sniffed.

"Personally I think as long as it's not boiled roots and bulbs," said Connor, "it will taste great."

Abby tilted her head up and looked at Connor. She had to chuckle.

"You made such a beautiful card, and now I've gone and ruined dinner," replied Abby.

"It's not ruined," interrupted Connor.

At Abby's stern look he shrugged.

"Okay, well if you really think it's ruined," suggested Connor hopefully, "we could order pizza. And eat it in front of the fire."

"Pizza?" asked Abby. "For Valentine's Day?"

"I love pepperoni pizza," said Connor, "almost as much as I love you."

Abby's lips curled up in a smirk.

"Alright Connor," replied Abby. "Pepperoni pizza it is."

Connor reached to press the speed dial on his cell phone, but Abby placed a hand on his wrist stopping him. He gazed into her blue eyes.

"Just be sure to order enough for three," said Abby. She held her breath.

The smile on Connor's face faltered.

"Oh, Jack's coming tonight?" asked Connor. "I thought he wasn't arriving until tomorrow…"

"No, Connor," replied Abby. "Jack's not coming tonight. And I'm not really sure about him coming tomorrow either…"

Connor looked confused.

"But you need to order enough pizza for three of us," repeated Abby. She gave Connor a small trembling smile.

The genius finally figured out what she was trying to tell him.

"Really?" asked Connor.

Abby nodded. She took his hand and placed it on her lower abdomen.

"And in about six months," she said, "you'll need to get a lot of nappies."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Becker rang the buzzer to Jess's flat at eight. The pretty field coordinator checked her make up in the mirror one more time before she opened the door. The soldier stood before her dressed in a soft black pullover sweater and gray trousers. He held a gold heart shaped box.

"Traffic was awful, sorry I'm late," greeted Becker. He thrust the box towards Jess. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Thank you," replied Jess as she took the box of chocolates. She held the door open wider. "Would you like to come in for a minute, I'm almost ready, just have to put my shoes on."

The soldier looked at Jess. The short bright red dress showed her shapely legs to advantage. And although Becker would be the first to say he loved watching Jess walk in high heels, he had to admit the barefoot look was just as attractive.

"We should be going soon," replied Becker as he stepped inside the flat. "Dinner reservations are at eight thirty and the traffic to St. Georges Street is still…"

"A bit heavy," concluded Jess. She sat down on the bright blue sofa and picked up a pair of black shoes with a red sole. "What was the name of the restaurant again?"

"Sweet Honey," replied Becker.

"Hmmm, sounds familiar," said Jess as she stood up. The field coordinator calculated the routes in her head, she doubted that they would make it in time for the eight thirty reservation. "Just let me grab my coat."

London traffic was still quite congested, and then parking was another issue. Becker and Jess arrived at the trendy restaurant fifteen minutes late. The host looked up at the tall soldier in dismay.

"I just gave away your table," sighed the harried man. "If you'd like to take a seat at the bar, I'll squeeze you in at the next available table."

Becker looked at Jess in consternation. Already, this date wasn't exactly going as he had planned, but Jess smiled brightly.

"That sounds perfect!" agreed Jess.

Becker nodded. The pair followed a waiter to two bright yellow seats in front of a crowded bar. They were soon served with two tiny carafes of wine and a plate of equally tiny appetizers.

"Complimentary," explained the waiter, "since your reservation was delayed."

Becker picked up one of the tiny hors d'oeuvres in his big hand. He held it out towards Jess. She opened her mouth and took a bite. She closed her eyes as she tasted the delicious food.

"Mmm," said Jess. She opened her eyes and grinned at Becker. Reaching for another hors d'oeuvre, she held it out towards the soldier. "Hil, you've got to try this."

Becker's eyes blinked in surprise.

"You called me Hil," said the soldier.

Jess stopped smiling for a moment, and then nodded.

"How did you know my name?" asked Becker.

The pretty woman rolled her eyes.

"Please," sighed Jess, "I've read the files. I know everything. Besides, I can't call you Becker if we're going out on a date. That would be weird."

She held up the hors d'oeuvre once more, closer to Becker's face. He inhaled the tangy scent of spices. Becker licked his lips.

"Taste," ordered Jess. "You'll love it."

Becker's mouth parted. Jess moved the tiny hors d'oeuvre closer and his lips closed gently on her fingers. She blushed as she pulled her hand back. He reached for another hors d'oeuvre.

"Would you like another Jessica?" asked Becker, his voice slightly hoarse. She nodded.

It seemed like only a few minutes had passed by the time the waiter offered to direct Jess and Becker to their table. Becker placed his hand on the small of Jess's back as the couple walked down the long narrow room past a number of other patrons to the rear of the restaurant. The waiter pulled out a chair for Jess. Becker moved to the seat opposite her. As he sat down, the man at the next table looked up. To the horror of both men, they recognized each other.

"Becker?" asked Lester. "What are you doing here?"

At the sound of their boss's voice, Jess turned to look. The ARCs director and a slender brunette were seated together at the small round table.

"Jess and I are here for dinner," answered Becker. "And you?"

The bureaucrat smiled warmly. The woman beside him flashed a dimpled smile.

"My wife and I are here for dinner also," replied Lester. "Just finishing up."

The ARCs director made introductions as he signed for the bill. Lester set the pen down and placed his hand over his wife's slender fingers. The candlelight shone on the white gold wedding band on his finger.

"We've been coming here every year for Valentine's Day," confided the ARC's director. "This is where we had our first real date."

-x-x-x-x-x-x


End file.
